Oakland A's third baseman Brett Lawrie will start Wednesday against the San Diego Padres after missing Tuesday's game because of back stiffness, according to the team's official web site.

Oakland A's third baseman Brett Lawrie will start Wednesday against the San Diego Padres after missing Tuesday's game because of back stiffness, according to the team's official web site. Lawrie will hit seventh against Padres starter Odrisamer Despaigne.

Lawrie, who is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Padres, is dealing with some stiffness in his back, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The issue isn't considered serious, so Lawrie may rejoin the lineup as soon as Wednesday. In his absence, Max Muncy will get the nod at third base. Lawrie has four home runs over the last three weeks, but it's still hard to ignore his .364 BABIP and 26.6 percent strikeout rate when looking at his .279/.313/.403 slash line. He also hasn't done much with the counting stats, currently on pace for 15 homers, 66 RBI, 47 runs and seven stolen base.

Lawrie is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.

Lawrie started each of the last eight games, highlighted by a three-hit, two-RBI performance against the Padres on Monday. He owns a respectable .279/.313/.403 slash line, but he's only on pace for 15 home runs, 66 RBI, 47 runs and seven stolen bases, despite enjoying a rare healthy season. He also has a discouraging K:BB ratio (66:9), with his slash line boosted by a .364 BABIP that will almost certainly drop as the season progresses. On a more promising note, four of his six homers have come within the last three weeks, and he's cut down on the strikeouts since the end of May.

Lawrie had two hits on Friday night, including his sixth homer.

The two hits broke an 0-15 streak that Lawrie was riding prior to Friday night's game. Lawrie has had a significant issue with strikeouts so far in 2015 with 64 in 222 at-bats, but he has managed to keep the betting average at a solid .275 with six homers.

As expected, Lawrie (back) is in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

The back issue kept Lawrie out of the lineup Saturday, but he was able to come on and pinch-hit, drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance. Lawrie has been productive in all four games he's started in June, going 9-for-15 with a homer, three RBI, and five runs. However, since he's coming off an injury and batting only 3-for-25 lifetime against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, Lawrie won't make for an appealing target in most daily formats.

Lawrie (back) will be back in the lineup Sunday, MLB.com's Jane Lee reports.

He was out Saturday with a back issue, but it is apparently something that only required one day off. Lawrie's production has been good, not great this year. He has a .738 OPS with five home runs and two steals in 215 plate appearances.

Lawrie is dealing with a back issue and is not in Saturday's lineup, the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea reports.

This is something that has apparently been bothering Lawrie for a while, and Saturday is simply a planned rest day. With that in mind, it seems safe to expect him back in the lineup Sunday. Max Muncy is getting the start at third base Saturday.

Oakland A's third baseman Brett Lawrie will not play Saturday against the Boston Red Sox because of a back injury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Oakland A's third baseman Brett Lawrie will not play Saturday against the Boston Red Sox because of a back injury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Lawrie said he has played through the discomfort for some time but that the injury is not serious. He hopes to play Sunday. Lawrie was involved in a scary incident Friday, as shards of a shattered bat during his plate appearances in the second inning hit and injured a woman at Fenway Park. The woman, who bled profusely after being struck, was transported to an area hospital and is expected to survive. "I've seen stuff go into the stands, Lawrie told NESN. "I've seen bats fly out of guys' hands and into the stands and everyone's OK. But when one breaks like that, there's jagged edges on it and anything can happen. "It’s one of those things ... yeah, one of those things."

Lawrie continued he recent hot streak going 3-for-4 with two runs and a solo home run in a losing effort against the Red Sox on Friday night.

The scorching hot Lawrie has now had multiple hits in four straight games and five of his last six. The string has boosted his average to .291 and has also produced a little pop including his fifth home run and 23rd RBI in this one. Lawrie has been streaky throughout his career so it might be wise to jump on board while he's going good.

Lawrie went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer for the second consecutive day Friday against the Yankees.

Apparently, Lawrie liked Thursday's stat line so much that he decided to replicate it. He's doubled his season homer total in two days, but fantasy owners are still waiting for the version of Lawrie that was expected to turn into a star. Despite the power he's shown over these last couple days, Lawrie's struck out in six consecutive games and has seen his whiff rate spike to a dramatically career-high 28.1 percent (a full 10 points higher than it's ever been) while only drawing six walks all season to this point.

Lawrie hit his third homer on Thursday night, a two-run shot off CC Sabathia.

Lawrie's homer was a huge one for the A's as it tied the game at three in the sixth inning. Lawrie has struggled with strikeouts all year (52 K's with only 6 walks), but his lack of power has been a surprise. He hit 12 homers in 259 at-bats in 2014, but his homer on Thursday was only his third in 177 at-bats. He has been able to keep the average at a respectable .266, but he will need to find a power surge soon to provide any significant fantasy value.

Lawrie is back in the lineup Tuesday against Detroit.

Lawrie missed the last three games due to back soreness, but he's back in the lineup Tuesday, so it looks as though he's moved past the issue. His return pushes Max Muncy, who started the last three games at third, back to the bench.

Lawrie (back) is out of the lineup Monday against the Tigers.

Lawrie will miss his third straight contest Monday due to back soreness. The injury isn't too serious, so he likely remains day-to-day for now, but Max Muncy will start at third base in his place Monday, batting sixth for the Athletics.

Lawrie will miss a second straight game Sunday against the Rays due to back soreness, John Hickey of the Oakland Tribune reports.

The Athletics are calling Lawrie day-to-day for now, but manager Bob Melvin might not be willing to use the infielder as a pinch-hitter Sunday in the event the injury fails to improve and results in him landing on the DL. Max Muncy will cover third base during Sunday's game.

Lawrie is a little banged up and will likely sit out Sunday's game as well, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Lawrie has managed to keep his average at .279 despite a brutal 48 strikeouts against only six walks over 165 at-bats. His two homers have been a disappointment so far after he had 12 in 2014 over only 259 at-bats. Lawrie will likely be back in the lineup on Monday at home against the Tigers.

Lawrie is out of the lineup Saturday, the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reports.

This is a rare day off for Lawrie, as Max Muncy gets the start at third base against the Rays. Lawrie has just two home runs and is striking out at a 27.3 percent clip, which is up almost 10 percent from his 17.4 percent mark in 2014.

Lawrie went 3-for-4 in the A's loss to the Astros on Wednesday afternoon.

In each of the A's last three games against a left-handed starting pitcher, Lawrie has moved up to the No. 5 spot in the batting order. He's been used mostly as the seventh hitter against righties, occasionally moving up to bat sixth. The multi-hit effort for the second consecutive day has helped to push his line to a more respectable .280/.313/.369 after he bottomed out at .214/.257/.286 on April 24.

Lawrie hit his second homer and drove in three runs on Tuesday night against the Angels.

Lawrie has been struggling, especially with strikeouts, in the first month of the season but was able to jump on a first pitch from Jered Weaver for a homer in the first inning. Lawrie is only hitting .224 through his first 76 at-bats, but is locked in as the A's third baseman.

After missing Saturday's game, Lawrie returned on Sunday with a nice game, driving in three runs.

Lawrie banged his knee on Friday leading to the Saturday absence, but was able to miss only the one game. Lawrie has struggled to start the year, hitting .219 with 25 strikeouts through his first 73 at-bats.

Lawrie (knee) will be in the lineup Sunday against the Astros.

Lawrie was rested for Saturday seemingly as a precaution after he banged his knee up Friday night, but his quick return to the lineup suggests the injury shouldn't be viewed as an issue going forward. The infielder has recorded just one hit over his previous four games, sinking his season batting average from .264 to .214.